Transcription
And the most simple way to describe our movement in life is here and there. When we say somebody's moving, we say he moves from here to there or here and there. Uh, those two words are very important. Here is where you are. There is where you want to go to. And so we're going to look at that, where you are and where you need to go to.
At every point in our lives, we wonder how to get from here to there. And so as we get into 2019, I know most of you are going to wonder what is out there. I believe it will be good for you in 2019. And so today we'll look at the story of a man in the Bible who had to constantly move from here to there. Many times he didn't want to move, but had to be moved by God, uh, himself. And the man's name is Elijah. Elijah. We know him as a prophet, but um, we're going to learn about his moving from here to there. My text is taken from First Kings chapter 17, verses 1-9. First Kings chapter 17, verses 1 to 9. It starts with the introduction of Elijah in the Bible and then some things that God said to him. So let's hear the reading of God's word.
"And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be due nor rain these years, except at my word.'"
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Get away from here." Please underline, "Get away from here." I, I'm happy that I'm not the one who said that, because if I told you, "Get away from here," you think I'm insulting you. But, uh, when God says it, we can just read it scripturally, uh, in context. But underline, "Get away from here," and note the word "here." "Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." Note the word "there" and underline, "to feed you there." Not here, but there.
Verse 5. "So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. For he went and stayed by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook."
"And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had no been there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.'" Note that word again, "there." Underline, "dwell there." "See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." Note the occurrence of "there."
Verse 3, "Get away from here." And verse 4, "I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." So Elijah had two locations: here and there. And when we talk about "here," we are talking about the place where Elijah was. This was the place that Elijah himself had declared will be without rain or dew, except by his word. It was a place that he himself had cursed. So he was in a place that was not prospering, that was not doing well, that he himself has said will not do well. But he was there. He was stuck in the place that he himself has declared will not do well. That was his "here." His "here" was under a curse. It had famine and it had drought. It was a place where he was located.
Sometimes we find ourselves in places we don't like. It could be a place you yourself have cursed, have messed up by your own words or your own actions. But it's a place that is not doing well, and Elijah is there. You get the impression that God had to intervene for Elijah to move from there. That if God had not intervened, Elijah would move, would stay in that place that was not doing well. He would be stuck there. It's possible many times in life to just feel stuck. You're going nowhere. But you are here. Here you are going nowhere. Just stuck.
So God comes to Elijah and says, "Hey, weren't you the one who says that nothing good will happen here? Get away from here." I believe that, um, he said it like a Ghanaian. "Get away from here. Get away from here." And where is he supposed to go? You're supposed to go there. Everybody say, "There."
"There" is the place where Elijah had to be. It was by the brook Cherith. This is a place that God has prepared for Elijah. A place of flowing river. Now, this place was still under the general jurisdiction where there was no rain and there was no dew, but it had a river. So although there was no rain, this spot had resources that Elijah could use. And God says, "When there is no rain here, I direct you to where there is a river." And so move from here to there. And in this place, it's a place of blessing. It's a place for provision and a place of refreshment. Although it had no rain, it had a river. Sometimes in the midst of a general scarcity, there are spots that God can take you where there will be resources available for you. And may the Lord take you there to that place where you will find the things that you lack in your life.
So Elijah moved from here to there. Here, there is a curse. There, there is a blessing. Here, there is scarcity. There, there is abundance. And you have no right to stay there or here in a curse when God has provided a blessing for you there. Somebody say, "I'm going there."
So normally when we say "here," we mean where we are now. It is what you have now. It is who you have in your life now. Usually, it is what we are familiar with. Place we've been for a long time, situation we've been in for a long time, something that we have experienced for a very long time that is "here." But God tells us that you have to move "there."
So let me explain further what I mean by "there." When I talk about "there," first and foremost, I mean being in the place where God wants you to be. Being in the place where God wants you to be. Elijah had to move from the presence of Ahab in order to be in the place where God wanted him to be. He had to move from standing before the king to a place where he would stand before a widow. But that place was the right place for him. Being "there" is being in the place where God is blessing, where God is making you fruitful, where God is making things happen for you, where God is giving you resources, being in the place where God wants you to be.
Being "there" is meeting the people that God wants you to meet. Meeting the people that God wants you to meet. There are people that God lines up for us to meet because God's purposes for us are usually wrapped up in people. The people you meet in your life will take you up or take you down. There are people who can bring joy into your life, and there are people who can bring sorrow into your life. So when you are in a place where the place is not where you should be, you have to seek God to know where he has implied in mind for you to be and whom he wants you to meet.
In the case of Elijah, he had to connect to a widow. Amazing. He had to connect to a widow, and he had to connect to a raven. He had to connect to a widow. He had to connect to a raven. Being "there" is receiving the provision that God has made available for you. There are resources somewhere, and God wants you to be there. And in Elijah's case, he had to be where the raven was. He had to be where the widow was because there is provision for you. God always has provision for you. He always has provision for you. There is always something he has in mind that he has laid in store for you. Being "there" is receiving the provision that God has made available for you. And being "there" is serving God's purpose for your life.
It's very interesting how God said he was going to meet Elijah's need. There is scarcity. There is no food. There's no resources. Everybody's looking for something. God says, "I'm taking you to a place where a raven will feed you." Now, you may not appreciate the sense of humor in that. God says, "I'm taking you to a place where ravens will feed you." Ravens don't feed nobody. Ravens actually steal people's food. They take from other people, and their beds or prey. They don't share. Ravens are not birds that will go your life because you know many times when we expect God to bless us, we look at people's face. We do face to determine that this one God will bless us. So, you know, especially when when you are broke and you're talking to somebody who has a lot of money, and you tell him about your problems, and he says, "Oh, yeah. I sympathize with you," and he seems to be really into you and really understanding of you. And he starts talking. The moment he puts his hand in his pocket, your eyes follow the hand to the pocket because at that time you're expecting that he will come out with something. Then the hand comes out empty. Then he puts it back to the pocket. It comes out empty up and down, frustrating you because you have somehow think that if God is going to provide for you, then this is going to be the man. He has a lot of money. He has a lot of contact. He can help me. But unfortunately, many of the help we have received in life comes from people who don't seem to be likely, because God does not supply our need according to the riches of men. He supplies our need according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Don't ever tie your destiny to the face of a man, because men will disappoint you. It is the calling of human beings to disappoint human beings. It is, it is their calling. When you put your trust in man, oh boy, you'll be so disappointed, you will sweat.
So, Elijah, who is going to feed you? A raven. Raven. Do you know who ravens are? Yeah. Do you know they don't distribute food? Yeah. Do you actually know that they steal food from other people? Yeah. And you think the raven will come and give the food with you? Yeah. How do you know? God said it. God can use the most unusual person to bless you. The least likely will bless you. A widow would offer you opportunity. Somebody who is down will lift you up. Because sometimes we think the only people who can lift us up are those who are up. But you know, sometimes the people who are up don't lift you up. They push you down. And sometimes it's going to take somebody who is down to lift you up so you can stand on their shoulders to go high. Don't ever underestimate the person that God can raise to bless you. Elijah had to learn that God can use a raven, and he can use a widow. So he listens to the Lord and he moves.
"Here" and "there" are the two places God wants us to consider today. Sometimes "here" and "there" refers to our spiritual life, our walk with God, our mental life, the level of our understanding, our emotional life, our physical life, our marital lives, where "here" has dried up and we need to move "there." So what do you do when your marriage is "here"? And how do you move "there"? I'm sure some of you have said, "Yeah, yeah, pastor, preach it. That's why I came to church today because I have to move there because here is not good."
Sometimes the movement you have to make is not physical, it's mental. It's the mental movement from here to there. For example, if you're a man and your wife is always unhappy, you know, and you say, "Ah, my wife is always unhappy. You know, she's never happy." I can give you the key to make her happy. Shopping. [applause] Shopping. Shopping answers all things. So your "there" is a you've been in Kono for too long. It's time to move there. So it's a mental adjustment. And the ladies understand me. Ladies, do you understand me? Most marriage problems can be solved. Not all, most. Seek you first the shopping. Now I know the men. I say, "Pastor, so what do you say about the women?" I'm not saying anything because you like it too much. Everything you want balance. You want balance. I'm not balancing it. Go shopping. Do it. She will smile. [applause] She will smile. You get home and YOUR WIFE IS, "OH, SWEETHEART, DARLING. OH, IT'S good to see you." You wonder what happened. You move from here to there.
Now, I know that there are things women must do for men, too. I know all of that. I'm not just saying it. Just leave me alone to preach my message the way I want it. All right. So, let me say a few things that are important. The first is that once you arrive "there," it becomes "here." Once you arrive "there," it becomes "here." In other words, the place that you see as the place of abundance, when you get there, it will soon become a place of scarcity. Your vision becomes your reality. What was exciting can become boring. So, for example, a person wants to marry. They are bachelor "here." Oh, I want to marry. I'm in love with this sister. Oh, when we marry, life will be so great. And and you're looking at their marriage as your joy, as your happiness. And and you know, you having all this vision about your future because "there" is the wedding and the marriage. Then you marry, you get there. Then after you stayed there for three years, it becomes "here." And when it becomes "here," you look at "here" and it's famine and drought. You want to move "there." How do you move "there"? You have to set a new vision for your [clears throat] relationship. And that means that you may have to change some things about you so that you can move from this place of famine to a place of abundance. Every place of abundance becomes a place of scarcity over time. For Elijah, the river stopped flowing. Sometimes something you are happy with becomes very boring. A marriage you are excited with. That's why they call the first couple of months in in marriage the honeymoon. Why is the whole thing not honeymoon? Because the honey comes in the moon. What does that mean? I don't know. It means that when the sun shines, there will be no honey. The sun will scorch you. Then the whole thing that you thought was a blessing, now you are wondering, "What am I doing here?" And some people think, oh, then go and change and get somebody else. And then you get somebody else "there" and it becomes "here." It's oh, then you get a third one and it's "here" too, because everything that is exciting will get boring over time. You get a new job, you say, "Oh, the day I get a job, I'll be the happiest man." Then you get a job, you are happy for three months, and now you are angry with your job because your boss is very cantankerous. "There" has become "here." But you have to keep moving because it's part of the process that God taught Elijah. You have to keep moving. So your "there" can become "here." And when it becomes "here," there has to be a new "there." When resources dry up in one place, God will point us to a new place. When resources dry up in one place, God will point us to a new place. You don't sit in the same place and perish. God will lead you to a new place. God will show you a new method. God will give you a new idea so that you can always be in a place of abundance. When resources dry up in one place, God will point us to a new place.
Third statement I want to make is that we must keep moving constantly from here to there. The only way to enjoy God's provision is by moving to the place of God's provision. You have to move. You've got to move. Whether it's your marriage or it's your business, don't just sit with it and say, "Oh, this is how it is. This is how life is. I thought this was going to work. Look at where it is. Yeah, that that's reality. The marriage will become boring. The job will become boring. Everything that was exciting will lose its excitement over time. But that doesn't mean you stop it. It means that you move to the next level of it. You move to the next level. If it's a marriage, deepen the relationship. Learn to converse. Learn to chat. Learn to talk about your dreams. Learn to converse without quarreling. Learn it. How do you learn it? Learn it. You wanted to marry. Learn it. Yeah. But when I talk, he doesn't understand. Acram. It's all part of it. You know when when you are in love, broke doesn't matter. In fact, your broke attracts each other. I'm telling you. But when you are married, broke matters a lot. I'm telling you, hunger is not good for marriage. It's good for bachelor and spinster. You call your boyfriend, say, "Hey, ch, I don't have any food." "Me, me too. I don't have food." Go and you laugh over it over the phone. [laughter] There's no food. When you are love, in love, love covers a multitude of hunger. You don't, you don't feel it. You just, oh yeah, there's no food. There's no food. Oh, oh, okay. But I love you. Me, too. I love you. That's life before marriage. Then you get there, say, "There's no food." "Oh, no food? What do you mean, no food?" [laughter] Ah, isn't it the thing we were enjoying when we were bachelor? It changes totally. Changes totally. And the thing that you used to laugh about, you are now fighting over. So the marriage, the relationship has to go from here to there. And sometimes it takes new knowledge, new understanding, new attitudes, new expressions to move from here to there. The person hasn't changed. It's the same sweetheart you had. Now it's become no longer sweetheart. Maybe it's become a bitter, bitter stomach. [laughter] But it's the same person. It's the same person. What's happened? The resources have dried up. The brook is dried. The brook is dried. Does it mean I can, that's the end of me? No. God wants to take you to a new place. There is another thing he wants you to learn. And for Elijah, the brook is dry. Go to Zarephath. And when there is everything is through, go another place. And he keeps moving from here to there, from here to there. From here to there. If you're going to make life worth living, you have to learn constantly to move from here to there. Because guaranteed, the brook will dry. Something that used to work will not work any longer. Something that used to feed you will not feed you any longer. It doesn't mean God has stopped feeding you. It simply means he's moved on. You have to move on.
So for Elijah, he gets to Cherith. The brook dries up. He goes to Zarephath and he eats for three years in the house of the widow. Even the king cannot have food, but the widow has food, and they eat for 3 years. And after 3 years, God says to Elijah, "Move from the widow's house and go to Mount Carmel and challenge the prophets of Baal to a contest." And you know what happens? He goes to Mount Carmel. He says, "The God that answers by fire, let him be God." God answers by fire. Uh, the prophets of Baal defeated, 450 are executed. Elijah comes from this mountain of success. Then he hears a very ominous warning coming from Queen Jezebel. Tell Elijah, "Tomorrow by this time, his head will be off his shoulder." Elijah hears it and starts running and running and running and running. And God tells him, "Okay, get here." And he gets there, and God feeds him again. And then God tells him, "Go to Mount Horeb."
I want us to take the story from there in First Kings chapter 19 from verse 11. When God meets him on Mount Horeb, First Kings chapter 19, 11-16. "Then he said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.' Behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, a still small voice. So it was when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah? Why, why are you here? Why have you brought yourself here?'"
Verse 14. "He said, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, killed your prophets with a sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.'"
The Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, anoint Hazael king over Assyria. Also, anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, king over Israel. And Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, anoint as prophet in your place."
Very interesting story. God said to Elijah after EVERYTHING, "He says, 'Go to Mount Horeb.'" Go to Mount Horeb. Now, if somebody tells you, "Go to Mount Kilimanjaro" or a mountain, normally you would expect that you will go to the mountain and go to the highest point, because the p, the value of a mountain is its height. A mountain is not a plateau. We don't just go to a mountain and stay at the foot of the mountain. You go to a mountain to ascend, to rise. God says, "Go to the mountain." It means I'm taking you to another high level. But you know what happened? Elijah goes to Mount Horeb and instead of going to the heights, he looks for a deep cave in the mountain and he goes to hide in the cave.
SO WHEN GOD SAYS, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" He says, "I sent YOU TO THE TOP." WHAT ARE YOU doing in the cave? This is not the place of your supply. This is not where I sent you to. I SAID, "GO TO THE MOUNTAIN. What are you doing here?"
Where was Elijah? He was in a cave feeling limited. He allowed himself to be boxed in. He feels unable to express himself. Many times God calls us to high levels, but we go and hide because of some issues. So what were Elijah's issues? Elijah had about three issues he was dealing with. First, Elijah felt unappreciated. He felt unappreciated. He says, "I've been zealous for the Lord." In other words, God, I've served you, but you've done nothing for me. As a matter of fact, if you read it, it's almost as if Elijah wants God to feel bad. He's trying to make God feel bad. He said, "God, everybody has abandoned you. I'm the ONLY ONE WHO'S BEEN SERVING YOU, and after all these years I've served you, you haven't even done anything for me." People who are in a cave talk like that. THEY FEEL UNAPPRECIATED. NOBODY APPRECIATES ME. I WORK my my whole life and I give all my life and I do all the hard work and no and I do all the donkey work and nobody appreciates me. Shut up, my friend. It's cave talk. Cave people are always complaining that they are not appreciated. I've worked hard, but nobody appreciates me. That's cave talk. Or a sense of not being appreciated.
Then he had a sense of of isolation. He felt isolated. "I am alone. I'm alone. Nobody here. I'm the only one." Oh, there are so many. God later told him, "Hey, hey, shut up. There's more people around. You're not alone." The people who are in the cave feel isolated. "I'm alone. I'm the only one who is having problems." And then the third thing Elijah says, he's expressing self-pity. "Now they want to kill me. They want to kill me. They want to take my life." When you have people who are constantly talking that way, they are in a cave. "Nobody appreciates me. I'm alone. Nobody cares for me. Nobody thinks about me. I'm here in my corner, and everybody has supported them, and I help all of them to be successful, and now they're at the top, and now nobody wants to visit me." Get out of the cave. There's no sympathy to help you in the cave. One of the worst things in life is to have a partner in the cave. This is one of the worst things. A cave dweller, a fellow cave dweller. You complain, complain. They say, "Hey, me too." Oh, mine is worse than yours. People are complaining as to whose situation is worse. "Nobody appreciates me." "Me too." "Nobody appreciated me." "I'm alone." "Me, I have nobody." "They want to kill me." "You too, they want to kill you." "Me, my the witches in my father's house and the one in my mother's house, they have come together, United Witches Association, and they are now coming against me. Everybody wants to destroy me." It's a sense of persecution, sense of inferiority, and he's complaining to God. Says, "Go to the mountain." Look at his language. "I came here, here to announce to somebody, it's time to get out of the cave."
It's time to get out of the cave. Stop complaining. Stop talking about how people have mistreated you and start talking about where God is leading you to, because there are resources still available for you. This is not the end. There's more to come. [applause] There's more to come. Elijah is beating himself down. And in life, I meet, and I'm sure you also meet people who beat themselves down. And when you are like that, everybody avoids you. You call people, they don't pick. You call, they don't pick. You call, they don't pick. Let me tell you, in this world, you know, everybody checks their phone. If you call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call, call,2024-05-16 03:40:10